


Desperation

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Injury, Injury Recovery, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 00:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5950174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neo tries desperately to find Roman following the events of V3E11.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desperation

Neo’s eyes widened as she sailed away on her parasol, distressed that she was floating further and further from Roman. They were a team. They needed to be together and now the little brat that caused all this, caused her to be away from _her_ Roman, was up there. She couldn’t see much else as she floated off. Neo managed to teleport down, making it to the treeline before the Grimm were able to zero in on her. She looked to the sky to see the ship crashing down, into the direction of Beacon and she took off running.

She wasn't sure if she kept going out of sheer will or if it was because Roman refused to answer texts on his scroll, but she needed to find him. She needed to know he was okay. She needed that comfort. She could feel her aura dropping slowly as she teleported closer to run less, as her breath was coming in heavy pants after the first few miles. She knew she couldn’t stop though. Not when her Roman needed her. Their bond had grown too close for her not to look for him. She had to find him, if only to make sure he was all right.

After a few stops to recover her breath and--more importantly--her aura, Neo finally made it to Beacon, with her umbrella drawn in case she had to stand up to a fight. She just wanted to find Roman and bring him home safe. _Home._ Did they have anything like that anymore? Since following Cinder’s plans, the two had teamed up, similarly to Emerald and Mercury, and she was rarely without him. She kept her breathing level as she kept telling herself _he’s okay_ over and over in her head as she looked for the flaming ship. She was careful to avoid the other Huntsmen and Huntresses that were out slaughtering the reprogrammed Atlesian droids, staying out of sight as much as she could as her heart pounded faster. She couldn’t tell if it was nerves or running or the idea of losing Roman, but she pushed herself to get to that wreckage before anyone else.

When she saw one of the Huntsmen not far behind her, she teleported out of sight, a backwards step turning into a stumble as she kicked a loose pole. _Melodic Cudgel._ He couldn’t be far; she could see the wreckage burning just outside the door she was peeking from. She picked up the cane, risking herself as she ran as quickly as she could toward the burning ship. Her heart pounded faster the more she explored the wreckage, holding her sleeve over her mouth and nose to keep the smoke from being too thick. She thought about calling out to him, but figured it was no use if he was unconscious.

Neo headed for the main deck, ducking her head under the support beams that had broken on impact. The smoke was less thick here, but she still worried. She swallowed when she saw his shoe peeking out from the side of the console, rushing over to him to roll him over onto his back. She shook him a little, checking for breathing and found his breaths shallow and ragged. He was covered in something she couldn’t place, but she laid her head onto his chest, sighing in relief when she found his heart beating steadily.

Neo snapped up when she heard the footsteps approaching, teleporting them out of the ship and over to the partly impacted building across the way where she’d found Roman’s weapon. She didn’t want to speculate how it had been thrown so far from the ship. It didn’t matter though. He was alive, even if barely. The scratches through the arms of his jacket and the legs of his pants made her think that he had been banged up more than she first guessed.

 

In her arms, Roman groaned. “Neo?” His voice came out as a rasp from the smoke of the ship. “How did you even find me?”

Neo held up her scroll and pointed to the application that showed her where each member of their team was.

“Ahhh, clever girl. So you always know where we are.” She nodded at his words, touching his cheek and checking him over. “Why did you come for me? You should have gotten to safety and I know you didn’t run the whole way.”

Neo’s heart sank. She couldn’t have left him like that. There was no way. She hugged him tighter, causing him to cough a little.

“Hey, easy there. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate the rescue, but you put yourself in harm’s way. You should have run. I would have found you eventually.” He coughed at the end, the dust from fighting his way out of the Grimm having collected in his lungs. Neo touched the gashes on his arms and legs, looking up at him worriedly.

“Grimm teeth are sharp, darling. I’ll be fine. We just need a place to lay low while I heal up.” Neo nodded in agreement, taking out her scroll and disguising them as students who had been caught in the fray. They would be able to escape this way. They would be able to get away. They just needed something to transport them. Roman limped his way along, leaning on Neo before taking his Cudgel from her so he could lean on it as well instead of putting his weight so much on his small partner in crime. They managed to make it to a ship that seemed to be empty. Neo commandeered it as their own, letting Roman rest in the back as she flew them further out and away from the Grimm attacking. She knew a place where they could be safe for a few days.

Once they reached the safe house that she had made when she murdered the inhabitants and gotten rid of the bodies, Neo helped Roman into the house. He limped his way in, collapsing on the nearby plush chair, not caring about staining it with blood. Neo came to his side, helping him take off his jacket, torn from the teeth marks, and then his shirt. The bowl of warm water she had brought over as well as the wash cloth were forgotten for a moment when she saw all the damage from his aura being so depleted. He was covered with bruises and the gashes in his arms and shoulder were deep. The worry on her face was strong and she stood up to kiss his forehead before kneeling back down to help him out of his pants once she pulled off his boots and socks. Roman winced from all the movement, but Neo was careful to not touch any of the wounds directly.

“Why didn’t you save yourself and run, Sweetness? You know I would have made it back to you.” Roman coughed into his hand covered in the dust from the Grimm, mixed with saliva and blood. Neo gave him that same hurt look as she cleaned the wounds on his legs first, sniffing a little.

“What? Are you as mad as I am about my clothes getting shredded? I just can’t believe…. Candy girl? Is something wrong?”

Neo shook her head, wiping her sleeve over her eyes so he wouldn’t see. Roman groaned as he leaned down to scoop her up, pulling her onto his lap.

“Sweetness, I’m not going to leave you. As you can see, I’m more resilient than what that Grimm threw at me. Even if it was just the ship crashing, I would have made it to you. We’re a team. We work together. What am I without you?” Neo sniffed again when he finished, leaning her head on his shoulder and gently kissing the side of his neck.

“I know you care about me and want me safe. I do appreciate you coming to find me and getting me out of there before the Huntsmen in the area found us. I just… need you to be safe too, Sweetness. Does that make any sense?” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, gritting his teeth a little at how much he was hurting with her on his lap, but if it made them both feel better, it was worth it.

/I don’t want to be in this world without you there./ Neo typed into her scroll over a picture of her distressed face, tears still welling up at her eyes. She snapped another picture as those tears started to fall. /I would rather die on the battlefield than fight without you./

“Neo, sweetie.It’s going to take more than a Grimm swallowing me whole and a ship crashing for me to be away from you.” He gently wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close. “If I’m going to go out, it’ll be in a blaze of glory and I want you by my side on that final fight, if it happens. Does that sound okay?”

Neo nodded, carefully moving herself off his lap. Roman leaned forward to tuck his fingers under her chin when she sniffed again.

“Darling, I won’t go anywhere. I’m right here and nothing will change that.” Roman leaned in to kiss her lips, as a promise more than anything. He broke the kiss, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. “I’m not leaving you if you aren’t planning on leaving me.” He hissed slightly as she started to clean on of the gashes on his right leg. “You’re my good luck charm. My candy girl. My darling. Nothing can compete with that.”

Neo looked up at him, pain still in her eyes. She finished with the gash on his leg, then stood up. She carefully leaned over him, keeping herself between his legs so as not to rub against anything open or sore. She carefully cradled his head to her chest and the tears started anew when his arms circled around her waist, holding her loosely.

“I know what you’re thinking. I know it was too close and watching me go down was terrifying. Yet, I’m here, with you, alive. Isn’t that what matters?” Roman’s voice was barely above a whisper as she nodded her head over him, not letting go of him just yet. “I know you were scared. I was more worried about fighting my way out of that Grimm but you were on my mind because I was so distressed when that little brat made you blow away. I couldn’t stop it. I was angry. Angry at her for taking you away from me, but I figured you would be safe and okay. You’re intact and that’s all I care about. We just need to find a tailor as soon as possible.” He gestured to his clothes covered in holes.

Neo took her time with finishing cleaning him up, finding him something suitable to wear once she got his wounds bandaged up as his aura slowly came back. Neo managed to find a pair of pajamas for him to wear in the closet, leaving him sticking out his tongue in disgust at the snowflake pattern. She just tapped her finger on his nose as she helped him get dressed, caressing his cheek with her hand then taking his and leading him over to the table so she could make something for them to eat.

After scrunching up her face a few times, she managed to heat up some soup for the both of them, helping Roman where he needed it because bending his arms made it difficult to lift the spoon.

“Where did you find this place, Sweetness?” Roman asked, swallowing down as she offered him another spoonful of soup. Neo just smiled sweetly and shrugged a little, comforted by the fact that he didn’t look as worse for wear than he did before. “Haha, that’s my girl. Take what you want, hide the bodies and use it as your own.” She nodded and smiled again, offering him some more soup.

When he finished, Neo helped him up, handing him his cane for him to lean on while she lead him to the bedroom. She helped him down onto the bed, getting him loosely tucked in before she started to leave to find some pain medication and some water. He caught her hand before she got too far.

“Neo, Sweetness, stay? I know you want me to be comfortable, but don’t sleep out there because I’m in here. This is no different than when we share a bed when we wait for Cinder’s orders.” Neo nodded, leaning down to kiss his hand and smile. She pulled away anyway, fetching the water from the kitchen and digging around in the bathroom for the pain medication.

Neo pressed two tablets to his lips, handing him the water and pulled out her scroll to change herself into her nightgown, slipping in under the covers to lay next to him. Roman swallowed down the pills, wincing as he turned to face her as she laid on her side. He slid his arm under her neck, no matter how much it pained him to do so, pulling her close.

“My dear, we’re going to be fine. I’ll be fine and we’ll hop back into the fray and make little Red pay for what she did to us. The real world may be cold like I told her, but it’s warm when I have you here.” Neo took a deep breath when he finished, kissing the side of his neck in affection as he kissed the top of her head. “We’ll get her back, and I’ll let you make the killing blow.” Neo smiled happily, scooting up to kiss him chastely on the lips this time. She let her lips linger a little before pulling away, settling back down on the crook of his shoulder. She laid her arm over his chest, remembering where the bruised areas were so she wouldn’t lay her arm on the worst ones.

“Neo?” Roman asked after they had been laying there a while. Her quiet breathing and lack of response from her fingers told him she was already asleep. “Aw well, my candy girl can know I love her when she wakes up.” Roman closed his eyes and fell asleep, his arm curled tight around her.

 


End file.
